Rain

I love photographing in the rain. The lighting is so much different. There is so much natural light, but any issues with shadows are gone.

The other great aspect of rain is the way it makes the leaves look. The leaves are so vibrant in this picture.

This photo way taken in my yard. It always amazes me when I get gorgeous photos without leaving home. I love my yard and it's so fun to find pictures on the macro level that seem to take me out of the yard and some place completely different.

Extinction Sucks

Time has definitely gotten away from me. Late winter colds have hit the family, and I haven't had much time to think about much else except keeping everything done to a bare minimum.

The whole idea for me when I started this was to post NEW pictures; thus getting my out with my camera more often. I shouldn't be to hard on myself though, I'm more of an outdoors photographer and get out very little in the winter.

Looking at the bright side, it's just as fun to pull from the archives. When I go through old photos I always find new ones to fall in love with. We were on vacation and went to a natural history museum where my daughter insisted on getting this huge sucker. Because we were on vacation I was a huge sucker myself and let them get them. We waited in the lobby while my husband ran up to the room to get something and I got this candid shot of her eating her treat. I'm not sure if you can see it, but it says "Extinction Sucks." Landscapes come much easier to me, so when I take a photo that I like of a person I'm also so excited.

I'm taking an oath to myself that I will take new pictures someday soon, and I will get better.

Feeling A Little More Sane in a Crazy World

The world seems really busy around me; moving a little too quick. I'm trying very hard to slow down though.

This photo shoot that I did, in my front yard, was one of the funnest I've ever done. It was challenging to have items in the shot that were motionless, but showing motion around. I love this picture because it looks like I'm picking the flower off a marry-go-round that's spinning out of control. With the lenses I got for Christmas I should actually be able to do a little longer exposure with my camera when I do a shoot like this.

These marigolds in my yard were really thick this year. They grew from seeds from the plants I had the year before. They were so think in the flower bed this year that it was so beautiful. I let the them die off in the garden this year, and I hope they come back this summer as well.

Six More Weeks of Winter

As always, the ground hog saw his shadow and there will be six more weeks of winter. (Or in my case probably three more months.) I'm getting a little stir crazy for some great summer landscapes to enjoy. I do enjoy the winter landscapes, but this time of year it's not always gorgeous and white but more yellow and muddy.

I took this picture of Steamboat lake this last summer while we were camping. I'd gotten up really early and went for a hike with my camera in hand. There was steam rolling off the lake as the sun rose. I took some really neat reflection pictures, but with the bark beetles in the area, the trees make it hard to take a nice landscape picture. It's so extremely sad to look at the forest with the beetles killing so many of the trees.

So, while we're still fully into winter, I will be planning some great camping trips and can't wait to take my camera along during the warm morning hikes.